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Laguna Lovin’ & Cali Goodbyes…. For Now

August 25, 2014– The last full day of my newly single lady trip out to the west coast and I wanted to make the most of it! I was spending the day with my aunt… okay technically she isn’t my aunt at all, but to keep it simple I’m going to go with that. Aunt, friend, whatever… she’s someone who’s known me since birth.

I had to also drop my rental car off that morning so she met me at the airport. I was so sad to give back my favorite travel companion for the past week. Our daily trips to In-N-Out, the drive up the coast through Long Beach to Santa Barbara, cruising along the California hills blasting music, and all the while pretending it was mine. It was the perfect ride for this trip, and I was sad to turn in the keys! I may or may not have done some research about purchasing one of these guys when I returned home, but that’s as far as that idea went… for now.

After dropping off the car we headed to Laguna Beach for the day. Back in high school when the reality show Laguna Beach was on TV, I remember my mom commenting on who stupid all their annoying drama was (agreed), but she always liked watching the TV show intro. Apparently the beach clips reminded her of growing up and her regular trips with friends from Long Beach to Laguna. She would tell me how she recognized the location shots and how she loved going there all the time as a teenager. I was excited to visit this gorgeous place for the first time, but also to visit another city that is indirectly tied to my past.

We parked the car and decided to start the day by taking a long walk along the water, taking in the endless views along the way. I love the rocky coast of Laguna and all the surrounding foliage. It feels much more natural than other nearby beaches I’d been to over the past few days.

After our oceanside stroll we stopped for some super fresh quac and cosmos, still with that beautiful beach view. Over the next hour we sipped cocktails and talked about life, relationships, and future goals. I love how the older you get the less age matters in personal relationships. There I was, sitting with someone who is the same age as my parents and whose son is also my age, relating to each other and sharing stories and feelings as friends more than anything else. There were lots of laughs, a few tears, but most of all we cherished that time spent together in such a beautiful place. Over the next few hours we moseyed around through the streets, stopped in art galleries and cute little crafty stores, and continued to enjoy the day.

A few hours later we found ourselves at this beachfront restaurant right as the sun was setting. We decided to grab another drink and some dinner to watch the sun go down, making it the perfect ending to not only an incredible day, but I week I will never forget.

As I watched the sky and its reflection on the water change over time, I thought about the journey I went through that week and the time leading up to it. What began as kind an escape from the reality of a recent sudden break-up had turned into a little bit of self discovery, and got me so excited for all the new possibilities in front of me. It’s so easy to get wrapped up in the negative/sad feelings when life throws you curve balls and doesn’t take the direction you planned. I’ve heard stories from some of my girlfriends about just crying for weeks, even months after a breakup, not being about to see the bright side or move on for a long time. I am very thankful to know things always get better… and a lot of the time turn out better than you could have ever planned yourself. With the bad comes something awesome around the corner, and sometimes you have to create that awesome for yourself instead of waiting around for it.